X-COM XCOM 2 + War of the Chosen Expansion Thread

[Zeriel]

Hahhahaha okay it's official, they're just taking every vaguely non-human enemy they can find in games in the past decade and calling it their own.

https://xcom.com/news/en-dont-get-in-the-andromedons-way-in-xcom-2

Once getting over the whole Bioshock thing, though, to be fair, it looks like the alien inside is way different. This might be one of my favorites of the new ones they've shown so far.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Hahhahaha okay it's official, they're just taking every vaguely non-human enemy they can find in games in the past decade and calling it their own.

https://xcom.com/news/en-dont-get-in-the-andromedons-way-in-xcom-2

Once getting over the whole Bioshock thing, though, to be fair, it looks like the alien inside is way different. This might be one of my favorites of the new ones they've shown so far.

Eh, it does look a bit like a big daddy, but I think they were going for more of a generic bulky power armor thing.
Didn't mutons in The Bureau look a bit like that?
I too like how they don't show the alien inside, just the silhouette.

 

[Space Satan]

Is it me or they are adding shitload of area effect abilities? Archon, this crap, shieldbearer. All this enemies pulverise or otherwise blast entire sections ofthe battlefield. Is this some perverse way to fight vs sitting behind cover I wonder?

 

[Zeriel]

The archon ability looked like an artillery strike that takes multiple turns to land, like the sectobot in XCOM. The shieldbearer ability didn't do damage at all, just shields everyone in the vicinity.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Is it me or they are adding shitload of area effect abilities? Archon, this crap, shieldbearer. All this enemies pulverise or otherwise blast entire sections ofthe battlefield. Is this some perverse way to fight vs sitting behind cover I wonder?

Probably. It think its more to make you spread out, instead of huddling behind cover and overwatching.
Like how you dealt with mutons in EU.

I hope needle grenades make a comeback. I liked the concept for those, though I found their execution lacking.
Like, they need chrysallids to make, but by the time you make one you will probably be fighting things that can shrug off 3 points of damage. It was just more efficient to use a rocket, and they became absolutely obsolete when Alien grenades are researched.

 

[Jaedar]

Looked kinda cool until I saw it fire.

 

[Jimmious]

I want this game so much it hurts

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

I don't understand its gun.
Its clearly a plasma weapon, and yet it can shoot a blob of liquid.
Shouldn't it look more like that goo gun from Unreal?

If it does have a plasma attack, then would it have really hurt Firaxis to give it another weapon for the goo? Like a sort of tube coming out of its back?
Its meant to be coolant, no?

 

[Zeriel]

Yeah, it's weird. Every enemy we've seen other than the sectoid has had the exact same plasma gun model. The andromedon has a slight alteration with a grenade-launcher-like barrel under the main plasma generator, but it's still pretty lazy. Could be that they are still iterating on that, but I dunno, in XCOM enemies didn't have that many weapons either.

 

[Alienman]

That weapon is going to get annoying... to be on the receiving end off at least.

 

[Mozg]

I hope needle grenades make a comeback. I liked the concept for those, though I found their execution lacking.
Like, they need chrysallids to make, but by the time you make one you will probably be fighting things that can shrug off 3 points of damage. It was just more efficient to use a rocket, and they became absolutely obsolete when Alien grenades are researched.

LW gives them to you right off the bat (as "anti-personnel" grenades) and they get a large bonus to damage and I think explosion radius after you research alien grenades so they stay relevant. There's a decent rationale to use them on every mission in the game.

 

[Zombra]

Is it me or they are adding shitload of area effect abilities? Archon, this crap, shieldbearer. All this enemies pulverise or otherwise blast entire sections ofthe battlefield. Is this some perverse way to fight vs sitting behind cover I wonder?

I was kind of thinking the same thing. Not really consciously, but just seeing these guys and like, "Welp, I guess cover is no good any more". Looking forward to: A) run spotter guy close enough to see an enemy B) use Squadsight to snipe the shit out of them as much as possible C) run spotter guy away to break LOS instead of having him fight or something. If the enemy moves close enough on their turn to see them, skip step A.

 

[Zeriel]

Bunching a ton of guys behind the same cover next to each other was already a bad idea. The AI loved to use grenades the moment you did that, and the Bombard ability on Heavy Floaters had an extreme range on grenades.

I was kind of thinking the same thing. Not really consciously, but just seeing these guys and like, "Welp, I guess cover is no good any more". Looking forward to: A) run spotter guy close enough to see an enemy B) use Squadsight to snipe the shit out of them as much as possible C) run spotter guy away to break LOS instead of having him fight or something. If the enemy moves close enough on their turn to see them, skip step A.

They have time-sensitive objectives that sound like they matter now, thank god, hopefully that will alleviate some of the overwatch farm/squadsight hijinx the game devolved into.

 

[Zombra]

Eh, it does look a bit like a big daddy, but I think they were going for more of a generic bulky power armor thing.

I would buy it if it weren't for the glowing bumps. They're configured slightly differently, but it's a very distinctive (nongeneric) look.

 

[Mozg]

http://ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Calcinite

Bioshock stole'd that shit first

Also it was probably an old horror cliche anyway

Also I don't actually see the resemblance

I have no hype for this because I know it will need an expansion and a year of modders banging on it. XCOM 2012 got a couple plays out of me because of the novelty of the systems but to go from Long War to some shit not made for incredispergs??

 

[Destroid]

A goo blob in a diving suit is cooler than a random alien in a diving suit.

 

[Grotesque]

I like it because it has a "Terror from the Deep" vibe

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

I like it because it has a "Terror from the Deep" vibe

It does a little bit.
Tentaculat when?!

 

[Morgoth]

This shit looks stupid.

 

[Latro]

They should have just done a terror from the deep + bioshock mashup for the setting.

 

[Alienman]

Mmmmm... my wet dream is to have another Terror from the deep. It is just something special fighting deep down on the bottom of the sea, in complete darkness against Cthulhu tentacle monsters that want to rape your brain.

 

[baturinsky]

Eh, it does look a bit like a big daddy, but I think they were going for more of a generic bulky power armor thing.
Didn't mutons in The Bureau look a bit like that?
I too like how they don't show the alien inside, just the silhouette.

 

[Mazisky]

The weapon attachment it's clearly an example of weapons mods that the alien (and xcom too) will probably research and build

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Thaaat's what I was thinking of.
I am a dumb.

 

[Zeriel]

THE ENVIRONMENTS OF XCOM 2: ADVENT CITY CENTER

In this recurring series, we take a visual tour of the environments that comprise XCOM 2’s tactical layer. Today, we look at the ADVENT City Center.

ADVENT’s power is an illusion, Commander. As shining beacons that promise a brilliant future for mankind, the City Centers play a large part in the ADVENT Propaganda machine and ultimate plan to strip us of all freedom and dominate the earth.

Behind each City Center’s alluring veneer lurks ADVENT’s sinister agenda. Dissenters are snatched off the streets and vanish without a trace, never to speak out again. Checkpoints regularly violate citizens’ privacy through arduous inspection. No one is safe, despite ADVENT’s efforts to sway hearts and minds otherwise.

Throughout the campaign of XCOM 2, you’ll traverse numerous City Centers as you undertake missions across the globe. ADVENT gene therapy clinics, restaurants, propaganda centers and entertainment lounges are just a few of the settings that will play host to XCOM’s struggle to reclaim the earth.

Thanks to XCOM 2’s procedurally generated levels, no two maps will play the same. You’ll see both day and night settings, and terrain that is more destructible than before. You can tear down cover and even blow holes through ceilings to cause enemies to fall to their deaths. You’ll never know what lurks within ADVENT’s City Centers, so be prepared for anything.

With any luck, Commander, we’ll tear down each and every one of these cities – brick by brick.

https://xcom.com/news/en-the-environments-of-xcom-2-advent-city-center

Good to see even the aliens can't get rid of pidgeons.